Device facilitating the slip of motor car trailers coupled to one or several axles



Aug. 11, 1936. A. 'HEKKING 0R CAR 2,050,94 DEVICE FACILITATING THE SLIPOF MOT TRAILERS COUPLED TO ONE OR SEVERAL AXLES Filed Dec. 14, 1933 FifiE2 76 75 82 (Yd M [W A I i I S'ET PAT DEVECE FACILITATING THE SLIP OFMOTOR CAR TRAILERS COUPLED TO ONE OR SEVERAL AXLES Andr Hekking, Neuillysur Seine, France Application December 14, 1933, Serial No. 702,379

In France December 19, 1932 Price Claims.

It is a known fact that when running backwards, the coupled motor cartrailers tend to disrail, that is to say tend to create a rapidlyincreasing difference between the radius of curve of the trailer andthat of the tractor (as such is the case with the two-wheeled trailer)or between the radii of curve of the tractor and the axles of thetrailer (as such is the case with the four-wheeled trailer). It isfurther well known bogie-rear bogie four wheels), result in the passagearound the pulley of a certain length of cable II, in the one or in theother direction, according to the direction of derailment. By virtue ofa system of countershafts or of a soft 5 casing T3, the eablecomes to adrum 14 upon which it winds itself. The said drum contains a springbarrel. The drum l4 drives directly or through the medium of a flexibletransmission that it is substantially easy to reduce and to can- I5, theangular motions of an index or pointer 16, i0

cel the said difference when moving in due time placed in front of thedriver. and in the required direction, the steering wheel According tothe modified form. of construccontrolling the direction of the tractor.However, tion of Fig. 3, the revolution of the pointer 2| the saidoperation cannot in practice be easily can be determined by a flexiblewire 82 which is performed and this for the following reasons:controlled by the mechanism consisting in the 15 lst'lhe driver does notnotice the derailpinion 83 and the rack 84. The rack and the ment untilthe same has already reached a conpinion are of course carriedrespectively by every siderable extent. one of the elements of thecoupled train whose 2ndHe must then meditate about to know variations ofposition are to be recorded.

whether he must steer to the right or to the left, In Figure 4, a casingII I encloses a barrel H2 29 and what is the amount of steering. uponwhich is wound a cable I I3 protruding from 3rd-It is for him difficult,troublesome and ofa flexible casing H4. 7? Said cable I I3 correspondsten impossible to control both the steering of t th bl 7| shown inFigures 1 and 2 and imthe tractor and that of this coupled trailer.parts to the barrel H2 rotation proportional to This inven on pr v meansfor indicating the lateral deviations or derailment of the 25 to thedriver the direction and amplitude of trailer. The barrel I I2 containsa. return spiral the rotation he must impart to the steering wheelspring. Said barrel further comprises a gearing so as to insure smadyreverse motion to the tractor or a friction surface driving a wheel H5which and trailer. The invention further comprises a t as th big crownwheel in spur whee] difmeans Operable y another p r on for impart gferential gear comprising planet wheels H6, H1 30 s np m t ti s t tsteering wheel of and sun wheels H8, H9. The sun wheel H8 is the tractorin order to control the direction of the rigidly connected by an axle toa pointer I20 reverse movement of the trailer and tractor. moving infront of a dial I2I. This dial receives In the accompanying drawinggiven by way rotary motion from the steering wheel I22 of example:through any suitable means. 35

Figure l is a plan view in diagrammatic out- In the embodiment shown,the casing I II is line showing the invention. secured to the steeringcolumn and an india-rub- Figure 2 is a similar view showing the cable ofher belt I23 passes around the hub or any other Figure 1 connected tothe rear bogie of the trailer. part of the steering wheel and in agroove of Figure 3 is a construction in accordance with the dial I2I.This belt thus secures both the 40 the invention, including amodification as to the rotation of the dial I2I in conformity with thecontrolling mechanism for the operation of the rotation of the steeringwheel and the necessary pointer. adherence between the wheel H5 of thediiier- Figure 4 is a broken plan view showing a modiential gear and thebarrel I I2. The second sun fication. wheel H9 receives its motionthrough a flexible In the form of construction represented in wire I25which may be operated by a second Figs. 1 and 2, a cable II secured tothe pole of the person so placed as to be able to look backwards,trailer (two wheels) or to the rear bogie (four in order to control thedirection of the reverse wheels) and passes around a pulley I2, securedmotion of the trailer and tractor. The driver 0 either to the rear ofthe tractor (case of the twoof the tractor has merely to look at thepointer wheeled trailer) or to the front bogie of the I20 and to turnthe steering wheel in such a trailer (case of a four-wheeled trailer).The armanner that a mark traced on the dial I2I will rangement of thesaid pulley and of the coupling constantly remain below said pointer.The posipoint is such that all variations of the angle, tion of thetrailer with respect to the tractor will tractor-trailer (two wheels) orthe angle front thus be stabilized during the reverse motion. A 55second person who is acting on the free .end of the flexible wire I25 bymeans of a suitable button or handle will be able to control thedirection of the reverse motion of the trailer and tractor by the factthat rotation of the wire I25 and sun wheel H9 will cause asupplementary rotation of the pointer I20 which, in turn, will inducethedriver to give a supplementary rotation to the steering wheel.

It is obvious that:

1stThe apparatus in question can be disposed at any place on the tractorand particularly on the dash-board.

2nd--That the same can be divided into several parts spaced apart theone from the other and transmitting the respective actions by means ofany suitable drive.

I claim:

1. A device for insuring the stability ofthe direction during reversemotion of motor car trailers, comprising means for transmitting thelateral deviations of the trailer and an indicating member placed nearthe steering wheel of the tractor, said means actuating said indicatingmember with such a ratio that said member indicates the direction andamplitude of the rotation which must be imparted to said steering wheelin order to neutralize any tendency of the trailer to deviate withrespect to the tractor.

2. A device for insuring the stability of the direction during reversemotion of motor car trailers, comprising means for transmitting thelateral deviations of the trailer and an indicating member placed nearthe steering wheel of the tractor, said means actuating said indicatingmember with such a ratio that said member indicates the direction, andamplitude of the rotation which must be 1 imparted to said steeringwheel in order to neutralize any tendency of the trailer to deviate withrespect to the tractor, and manually operated means for impartingsupplementary motion to said indicating member in order to control thedirection of the reverse movement of the trailer and tractor.

3. In a device for insuring the stability of the direction duringreverse motion of motor car trailers, a difierential gear comprising acrown wheel, two sun wheels and planet wheels, means for transmittingthe lateral deviations of the trailer to said crown wheel, a pointerconnected to one of said sun wheels, a dial rotatably mounted below saidpointer, a mark on said dial,

means for transmitting rotation from the steering wheel of the tractorto said dial, and manually operated means for rotating the other sunwheel of said differential gear.

4. A device for insuring the stability of the direction during reversemotion of motor car trailers comprising means for transmitting thelateral deviations of the trailer and an indicating member placed nearthe steering wheel of the tractor, said means actuating said indicatingmember so as to rotate said member at a speed proportional to the speedof deviation of the trailer and a second indicating member operativelyconnected with said steering wheel and mounted adjacent to the firstmentioned indicating member.

5. A device for insuring the stability of the direction during reversemotion of motor car trailers comprising means for transmitting thelateral deviations of the trailer and an indicating member placed nearthe steerin wheel of the tractor, said means actuating said indicatingmember so as to rotate said member at a speed proportional to the speedof deviation of the trailer, a second indicating member operativelyconnected with said steering wheel and mounted adjacent to the firstmentioned indicating member, and manually operated means for impartingsupplementary motion to said first indicating member in order to controlthe direction of the reverse movement of the trailer and tractor.

ANDRE HEKKING.

